Face 2 Face

Karthik Subbaraj, who is directing the next Rajinikanth film, talks about being a “social media generation” director, making short films and learning from them. He talks about his writing process and how he writes complex screenplays like Jigarthanda and Iraivi. He discusses the the layering of characters, the staging of shots. He talks about how the climax of Pizza helped him form the rest of the narrative (when people asked him to make it like Chandramukhi), and about his twists. He talks about the challenges of making a silent film like Mercury, with Prabhu Dheva. (And about Kamal Haasan’s silent film, Pesum Padam/Pushpak.) He talks about social responsibility and being an urban filmmaker. He talks about his Tarantino fandom, and his involvement in making music (with Santhosh Narayanan). He talks about his Dhanush film, where he wants an antagonist of the stature of Al Pacino or Robert De Niro. He speaks of his love for Baba and Lingaa, and abut classic Thalaivar films like Mullum Malarum and Nallavanukku Nallavan. Finally, he answers rapid-fire questions on Rajinikanth.

RJ Balaji, fresh off the success of LKG, explains the original intention behind making such a film adding how the team managed to complete the political satire without deleting a single scene.

Vijay Deverakonda, the star of NOTA, talks about being called the biggest star in south Indian cinema. After Pelli Choopulu, Arjun Reddy and Geetha Govindam, he assesses his position, his female fan base, and the perceived change in his attitude and behaviour. He talks about the dynastic system of the Telugu film industry and the issue of releasing NOTA alongside NTR Jr's Aravinda Sametha Veera Raghava. He talks about his schooldays in Puttaparthi, the culture shock of Hyderabad, his theatre training and destiny. He talks about his favourite Tamil films (starring Rajinikanth, Karthi, Surya) and whether he will do 'mass' movies.

Actor/Producer #VijayAntony (https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=%23VijayAntony) talks to Baradwaj Rangan about his upcoming film #Kolaigaran (https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=%23Kolaigaran) , 
he also talks about his journey in the film industry, why he started producing films,
how he chooses his film scripts, his unique titles, his creative process as an
actor/composer & more.

Vetri Maaran talks about Vada Chennai, and how it differs from other gangster movies set in North Madras. It was originally a 5-1/2 hour cut. How did he reduce it to a manageable size? What is the reason for the long gestation periods between his films (Polladhavan, Aadukalam, Visaranai, and Vada Chennai), and what are his learnings from each one of them? He discusses the possibility that he is a changed man after Visaranai, having now acquired the rights to the book, Shoes of the Dead, which is about farmer suicides. 

He talks about his improvisatory methods, and why dubbing is such an important part of his films. When a film drags on for as long as Vada Chennai, is there a danger of doubting the material or getting bored with it? Is there the temptation to keep tweaking or changing it? And what about Dhanush? When an actor and director who have a high level of comfort, who are also friends, is there a danger that you know someone too well and therefore might not be able to surprise each other anymore? And two, given that Dhanush is also a very commercial hero, is there the pressure that you should not let him down at the box office?

He talks about projects like Soodhadi, and a film based on a poem by Na Muthukumar. Would he be interested in a female-oriented film? He discusses Vada Chennai's A certificate and what it means in terms of the audience. Finally, he reveals why he isn't as much of a filmmaker -- in his estimation -- as Balu Mahendra and Mani Ratnam.

Actor #TaapseePannu (https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=%23TaapseePannu) talks to Baradwaj Rangan about her upcoming film #GameOver (https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=%23GameOver) and what made her choose to accept the film, she talks about director #Vetrimaaran (https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=%23Vetrimaaran) and how he used her naivety in aadukalam to his advantage. She also talks about how she likes to be convinced to do a scene in a particular way.

Suhasini, in this interview with Baradwaj Rangan, talks about how Mahendran told her to absorb cinema as a maker, the legendary director's friendship with Ilaiyaraaja, how close he is to Rajinikanth, why Mahendran didn't work with Balu Mahendra after Mullum Malarum and how he had approached her dad to cast her in a movie.

Ahead of #Ranarangam (https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=%23Ranarangam) ’s release-  #SudheerVarma (https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=%23SudheerVarma) talks to Baradwaj Rangan about how he got into films, his favourite directors, the difference between copying and getting inspired, who Ram Gopal Varma is to him and his love for world cinema.

Director S U Arun Kumar talks to Baradwaj Rangan about his transition from an engineer to a filmmaker. He also talks about his upcoming film #Sindhubaadh (https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=%23Sindhubaadh) , his rapport with actor #VijaySethupathi (https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=%23VijaySethupathi) and more.

Actor #ShrutiHaasan (https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=%23ShrutiHaasan) talks to Baradwaj Rangan about creating independent music, how acting helped her make better music. She also talks about how her father #KamalHaasan (https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=%23KamalHaasan) wanted her to become an actor.